'Breaking Up is Hard to Do' in Ivoryton

Bonnie Goldberg

Published
12:00 am EDT, Friday, October 5, 2012

ESSEX >> Remember back to the 1960s when the Bozo the Clown Punching Bop Bag, with bright red hair, squeaky nose, bop zone and sand-filled base, was all the rage? You vent your stress and frustration by hitting it down and watching it pop right back up again, ready for another round. How wonderful it would be if people could be that resilient and could bounce back as easily when they are knocked down by disappointment.

Just ask Marge Gelman whose fiancé left her at the altar. She justifiably was devastated and depressed and despondent. So it's her B.F.F, best friend forever, Lois, to the rescue and a three-day weekend at Esther's Paradise Resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York as a quick fix, a temporary Band-aid, to inject a dose of momentary joy.

To journey with Marge and Lois, come along to the Ivoryton Playhouse for a musical injection of Neil Sedaka tunes in "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," with book by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters, until Oct. 14.

Leah Monzillo's Marge and Sheila Coyle's Lois jump into the bevy of activities that Esther (Melanie Souza) and her resort are famous for as they try to heal one broken and bruised heart.

The girls quickly find themselves swept up with hunky head singer Del Delmonaco (Christopher DeRosa) who has an ego as big as the resort's mountain range.

For tickets ($40, seniors $35, students $20, children $15), call the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton at 860-767-7318 or go online to www.ivorytonplayhouse.org. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Cheer for Marge to recover her romantic equilibrium and once again find love, with the help of her best bud Lois and the music of Neil Sedaka as her lucky charms.